​First Patented Wire Fence

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Marker Text: ​Virginia native William H. Meriwether (b.1800), an early Comal County plantation owner, ran a sawmill, cotton gin and gristmill at this site. As an agriculturalist, he was aware of the need for an economical and practical source of fencing material. His interest led to the development of a smooth wire and board fence that effectively resisted the temperature changes that had been so damaging to earlier wire fencing, was awarded patent number 10211 on November 8, 1853. It was the first patent for a wire fence issued in the United States.
      Although not widely accepted Meriwether's fence was an important step in the development of an economical fencing material. It also played a role in later wire fence patent disputes. Meriwether sold his mill site to German native Joseph Landa in 1859 and moved to Tennessee, where he died in 1861. (1982) 

Marker No: 1807

Aluminum 27 x 42 Subject Marker

Geographic: 29.705334,-98.130997

Location: 100 block Landa Street, entrance to Wurstfest grounds at Landa Park, New Braunfels